Looking for transwonderland
Subtitle: travels in Nigeria
By: Noo Saro-Wiwa
Publisher: Soft Skull Press; Distributed by Publishers Group West
Published: 2012
Place of publication: Berkeley, CA
Language: eng
Number of pages: 309
ISBN-13: 9781619020078
Subjects: Travel; Description and travel
Description: Noo Saro-Wiwa was brought up in England, but every summer she was dragged back to Nigeria - a country she viewed as an annoying parallel universe where she had to relinquish all her creature comforts and sense of individuality. Then her father, activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, was murdered there, and she didn't return for 10 years. Recently, she decided to rediscover and come to terms with the country her father loved. She travelled from the exuberant chaos of Lagos to the calm beauty of the eastern mountains; from the eccentricity of a Nigerian dog show to the empty Transwonderland Amusement Park - Nigeria's decrepit and deserted answer to Disneyland. She explored Nigerian Christianity, delved into its history of slavery, examined the corrupting effect of oil, investigated Nollywood. She found the country as exasperating as ever, and frequently despaired at the corruption and inefficiency she encountered. But she also discovered that it was far more beautiful and varied than she had ever imagined, and was seduced by its thick tropical rainforest and ancient palaces and monuments. Most engagingly of all she introduces us to the people she meets, and gives us hilarious insights into the Nigerian character, its passion, wit and ingenuity. -- Publisher's website.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [311]).
Table of contents: title: Lagos: Centre of excellence. Oil and people on water. Total formula for victory over the hardships of life; title: Ibadan: Under the light of fading stars. Transwonderland; title: Abuja: In the chop house. Spiderman, rock stars and gigolos; title: Kano: Straddling modernity's kofar; title: Nguru and Yankari: Where are those stupid animals?; title: Jos: Hidden legacies; title: Maiduguri and Sukur: Kingdom of heaven; title: Calabar: Masquerade mischief; title: Cross River State: Spoiling nature's spoils; title: Benin: Behind the mask; title: Port Harcourt: Tending the backyard; title: Lagos: Truth and reconciliation; title: Epilogue.